American Dragon: A Family Legacy
by SqueakyTheDuck
Summary: Finally complete! Jake and Rose's children are the next American dragons. When an old enemy returns, will they be up to the task, or will Blake's cockiness cause tragic results? R&R.
1. Introduction

Before you read this fic, let me explain a few things. This is my idea for an AD: JL spinoff, called American Dragon: A Family Legacy. It takes place 20 years after AD: JL. In this story, Jake and Rose are married. They have 13-year-old twin children named Violet and Blake. Gramps is dead now (died of old age), but he continues to guide Jake in spirit (a salute to Star Wars). Jake still has his dragon powers, but Violet and Blake are the American dragons now. Trixie and Spud are not married, but they're dating. Trixie is a doctor, and Spud is a child's therapist (not sure why I chose that, it just seemed like a good job for him).

Character bios:

Cody Blake Long (Blake Cody didn't sound quite right): He goes by Blake. He and his twin sister Violet are the next American dragons. Blake is incredibly cocky and overconfident, much like Jake was in the first season of AD: JL (maybe worse). He is, in fact, very much like his father was: A hip-hop slang-using rapping breakdancing skateboarder. He has blond hair with a black stripe running horizontaly through it. He wears a light blue T-shirt, and dark blue pants. His eyes are black, like Jake's. His dragon form is light blue, with a dark blue chest and spikes.

Violet Long (If anyone can think of a middle name, I'd like to hear it): Violet is definitely more mature than Blake. She is the more responsible of the two, and generally does not get cocky. She calls Blake 'Cody', mostly because it annoys him. Her outfit is pretty much like the outfit Rose wore in season two of AD: JL, only with the colors switched (white pants, blue shirt, and pink necklace) Violet has black hair with two or three streaks of dark blonde in it. Her eyes are the same shade of blue as Rose's. Violet's dragon form is much like Blake's, only, wherever he's dark blue, she's light purple. As Blake takes after Jake, Violet takes after Rose. She has a great understanding of the magical world. She knows when to be serious, but she also knows when to lighten up and have fun. She's smart and good-natured.

Leone: A 200-year-old magical talking fox. She's the twins' animal guardian (Fu Dog became Jake's guardian when Gramps died). By magical standards, she's still very young. Her personality is like that of a bouncy puppy. She's also slightly sarcastic. She has a slight history with Fu Dog, as he once trained her in the ways of an animal guardian. She calls him Wrinklestiltsken (a play on words, reference to Rumplestiltsken), which annoys him. Despite being somewhat naiive and sardonic, she is loyal and selfless, always willing to help Violet and Blake.

Theme song (same tune as season 2 AD: JL them song):

They're young and strong

They're the daughter and son

Of the dragon protector

The chosen one

And now they're savin' the nation

They're the next generation

It's they're job to protect

The people of NYC

It's been passed

Down to them

It's a family legacy!

American dragons

American dragons

They're the American dragons…

Uh, yeah that's all I can think of. Help?

This was the introduction. The story starts in chapter 2.


	2. Like Father, Like Son

It was a day like any other for the Long family. Jake had taken Violet and Blake out to Central Park for dragon training. Now, as they came in the door, Rose heard Blake arguing with Jake.

"Yo, Dad, I totally had it under control."

"Blake, you almost broke the Mirror of Seeshin!"

"Me? The MacDaddy dragon? Yeah right!"

"Your overconfidence is going to get the better of you one day."

"There's a difference between being overconfident and knowing I'm good."

"And you have yet to learn that difference."

"You know what? Forget it! You just don't get it!" With that, Blake went up to his room. Jake sighed as he walked into the electronics shop that he had turned into his home. After Lao shi had died, Jake had wanted to keep the shop, but the only way he could do that was if he and his family actually lived there. So they had added an upstairs, and now the four humans, as well as Fu Dog and Leone, lived in the shop.

Jake flopped back onto the couch. Rose glanced over at him. "What's wrong, Jake?" she asked.

"Blake, that's what." Jake answered. "He's cocky, overconfident, disrespects authority, and constantly uses magical potions and artifacts for his own personal gain."

Rose tried unsuccessfully to suppress an amused smile. "Sounds familiar." she said. Jake looked over at her. "That's exactly the problem." he said. "

Blake is a lot like me. Think of all the mistakes I've made: misusing shapeshifting powers, using the oracles' predictions to help me cheat on a test, becoming distracted by my own feelings, which usually resulted in my judgment being altered, using doppleganger powers for my own gain…the list goes on!"

He sighed. "Blake is so much like me that it scares me." he said quietly. "I don't want to see him make the same mistakes I did. It took my battle with the Dark Dragon to turn me around. I just don't want it to take something drastic for Blake to straighten up."


	3. The Element of Surprise

"So, Dad," Blake asked with his usual cockiness. "What are we doin' for dragon training today? Beating some trolls, kickin' serious butt…"

Unnoticed by Blake, Jake's dragon tail materialized behind him. In a flash he lashed it out, wrapping it around Blake's ankle. With one jerk of his tail, Jake pulled Blake to the ground.

"Hey!" Blake's exclamation of surprise rang out. He stood up and brushed himself off. "What'd ya do that for?!"

Jake crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "_That_," he said. "Was to teach you to pay attention. And to answer your earlier question, today's lesson is about the element of a surprise attack. Your victim can't suspect anythi—whoa!"

At that moment Jake was tackled to the ground from behind. He stood up, spitting gravel out of his mouth, and turned to see Violet, in dragon form, grinning. "Something like that, right?" she said.

Jake laughed. "Exactly." he said. "I certainly wasn't expecting it. And that's what the surprise attack is all about." Suddenly Jake paused, and cocked his head. Then he casually stepped to one side as Blake flew by. Unable to stop, Blake slammed headfirst into a pole.

Jake strode torwards his son. "You okay?" he asked. Blake scowled. "I think he hurt his pride more than anything else." Violet piped up. "Yo, how'd you hear me sneakin' up?" Blake whined.

Jake shrugged. "Your claws…the gravel…I have keen hearing." Blake stood up. His expression had changed from a scowl to an incredibly sheepish look.

"This is totally wack anyway." he insisted. "I don't need a surprise attack. I go in, lay down a can of dragon-smack, and go out. The bad guys won't know what hit 'em!"

Jake smacked his palm to his face in exasperation. "Look, Blake," he said. "I have something you don't."

"What?" Violet said, holding up Blake's scrawny dragon arm. "Muscles?" "_Experience_." Jake corrected. "I used to be just as cocky as you, Blake. That usually resulted in me needing to be bailed out of trouble by Gramps. Trust me, overconfidence…not a good idea."

"Don't start with the lectures again." Blake retorted, clearly—and maybe purposely—indicating that he wasn't listening.

"Hey," Violet put in, as an attempt to be the peacemaker. "C'mon, Cody. Let's go practice some flying manuevers."

The two dragons flew off. Jake watched them for a few minutes. He sighed, and dropped down to a cross-legged position on the grass. Central Park was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. That was good. It gave Jake time to think.

The air in front of him glowed with a fog-white mist. The mist swirled around, and when it vanished, the ghostly form of Jake's former dragon master, Lao Shi, stood before him.

Jake's spirits lifted. He always enjoyed talking to his grandfather. At least he did now. He hadn't appreciated it much as a kid.

"Hey, G." he said, using his old nickname for the older man. Lao Shi smiled. "How are things going, Jake?" he asked.

Jake grimaced. "Not good." he answered. "I thought Blake would get _less_ cocky as his dragon training progressed."

Jake needed say no more for Gramps to understand what he meant. "Now," he said. "You see how annoyed _I_ used to get with _you_."

"Yes," Jake said, fiddling with a blade of grass. He looked up at Gramps. "Was I really _that_ cocky, though?"

Gramps pondered that for a moment, then said. "Yeah, pretty much."

"But," he added. "you came around. I am sure Blake will, too." "Yeah, I guess." Jake said. "Thanks, G." Gramps placed his hands together, bowed slightly, then slowly vanished.

Jake thought about his grandfather's words. Sure, Blake would straighten up sooner or later, but what would it take?


	4. The Shadows Have Eyes

Night had fallen over New York City. The moon and stars shone brightly over the city to worlds both seen and unseen by any normal human.

While everyday people got ready for bed or a late night movie, gargoyles left their perches atop high buildings to soar across the night sky.

While mothers read their children bedtime stories about fanciful lands where unicorns lived, the beautiful single-horned creatures swept through Central Park, galloping gracefully with their mains flowing behind them.

As for the Long household, things were going as usual. It was around 11:00 PM. Everyone else had gone to bed already. Violet was last. As she stepped out of the shower and pulled her robe on, she heard a rustling sound in the hallway.

For a brief instant fear came over her. Then she remembered what Jake had told her. "Fear is your worst ally."

Quietly, she crept out into the hall. Glancing around, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. But the hallway was dark, covered in shadows, and things could hide in those shadows.

There it was again. That same rustling sound, but slightly louder this time. Where had it come from? Violet listened, but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Ear of the dragon." she whispered. She listened more intently this time, but was met only by silence this time. She remembered hearing that the shop had once had a problem with mice. _Maybe that's it._ she thought. _Probably just a mouse._

She glanced around one more time to be sure, but still saw and heard nothing. She shrugged, and headed down the hall to her room. 

But one thing went unnoticed by the young dragon. Something hidden deep in the shadows. A pair of sinister glowing golden eyes.

**Muahahahahaha! Another cliffhanger! As a side note, I didn't make up that thing about the shop having problems with mice. It's in an episode, but you have to watch closely to see it. In the episode 'Act 4, Scene 15', when Jake slips on that bowl, it flies out from under him, hits a **_**loaded mouse trap**_**, which springs up in the air, knocking a red book off the shelf, which falls, knocking over the jar that held the scarab beetle. Watch the episode and you'll see it.**


	5. Saturday Morning Patrol

"Oh, yeah. Saturday. There's no better time to get in some quality chill-time." Blake gave a contented sigh as he flopped back onto the couch. "Where's the remote?"

While Blake searched through the couch cushions for the TV remote, Violet came running down the stairs and headed torwards the door.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked her. "I'm going out to patrol the city." Violet replied, then continued torwards the door.

Jake held his arm out to bar the door. "Not happening." he said. "Gramps wouldn't let me go out on patrol alone until I'd been training for a year."

"Understandable." Violet agreed. "Then will you come with me?" Jake shook his head. "Sorry, but I've got a lot to do today."

"Found it!" Blake's exclamation of victory at finding the remote gave Jake an idea. "Blake could go with you."

"What!" Blake scowled at his father. "Yo, you're trippin'! It's Saturday! Who besides Violet would spend a Saturday patroling the city!?"

"You." Jake answered, shoving Blake torwards the door. "Dad," Blake whined. "No argument." Jake said. "An extra patrol of the city won't hurt."

Violet dragoned up and flew out the door. Reluctantly, Blake followed suit. As the two dragons soared over the skyscrapers and apartment buildings, Blake looked over at Violet with a glare. "Thanks for ruining my Saturday." he said angrily.

"Aw c'mon, Cody." Violet pressed. "Lighten up, dude. I thought you enjoyed a chance to fly." "I do." Blake replied. "but I hate patroling. It's so boring. There's never anything going on. Now, if we could have some action here, like fightin' some trouble-making trolls, or showin' some evil shark-people who's boss, then I'd have some fun."

"Is that all this is to you?" Violet retorted. "Just having fun and fighting bad guys for the simple joy of 'kicking butt'?"

"What's wrong with that?" Blake asked.

"As the American dragons it's our job to protect magical creatures. _That_ should be your number one priority!"

"The MacDaddy dragon don't need to spend all his time training like you do!"

"Well slacking off never helps you any!"

"_I_ actually know how to have fun!"

"And you think I don't?!"

"Well, you don't seem to!"

"I do too!"

"Do not!"

"Uh, Cody, where are we?" The two dragon students hadn't noticed that they were losing altitude, and now found themselves in a dark, eerie alleway on the edge of town.

"Something doesn't feel right here." Violet said. "We should go." Blake nodded. But neither noticed the dark, shadowy figure that loomed behind them…


	6. Interrupted Meditation

_Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Find your center. _Jake sat in a cross-legged position on the floor in the living room, preparing himself for his morning meditation.

He closed his eyes, focusing, feeling the energy flow through him, sensing the balance between the magical and human world.

The shop was quiet today, with Violet and Blake out on patrol, which allowed Jake complete calm. He breathed slowly, making sure to remain completely centered.

Slowly, he began to levitate, rising into the air as his concentration deepened. He hung in the air for several minutes. Outside sirens wailed and car horns blasted. Fu Dog and Leone entered the front room arguing over something. But Jake never lost his focus.

Suddenly a dazzlingly bright light flashed through his head, attacking his senses, causing both physical and mental pain. A vision passed across his mind for a brief instant, a forewarning of danger.

Jake screamed, and, losing his focus, fell to the floor with a thump. Rose, who had been reading nearby, jumped up and rushed over to him. She had seen him meditate enough to know that if he lost his focus, something was definitely wrong.

"Jake, what's wrong?" she asked, helping him up. Jake shook his head. "I—I don't know…" Suddenly he remembered the vision. His eyes widened with fear. "Violet and Blake! They're in trouble!"

"How do you know?" Rose asked him. "No time." Jake replied, dragoning up. He motioned for Rose to get on his back. "C'mon, I'll explain on the way."

Rose didn't question him, but leaped onto his back. Jake then took off at break-neck speed. As he flew, he explained. "I had this strange vision…I think."

"A vision?" Rose repeated. "Of what?" Jake thought, but try as he might, he couldn't remember it. He touched down on top of a building. "I need to think." he told Rose. "I know the twins are in trouble but I don't know where they are. That vision might help."

He closed his eyes, thinking back to the scene that had flashed before his eyes only moments before. "I see…an alleyway." he said at last.

"That's not much help." Rose pointed out. "There's tons of alleyways in New York City." "I know." Jake replied. "There must be something more." As he concetrated, the vision began to come into focus.

"There's a field behind the alley." he stated. "That must mean it's on the edge of town." Rose reasoned. Jake nodded. "Let's see, there's green sludge on the ground…sewer sludge!"

His eyes flew open. "That's it!" he exclaimed. "There's only one alleyway in NYC that's on the edge of town and above the sewer system! That's where Violet and Blake are."

"But what kind of danger are they in?" Rose asked. Jake searched his mind once again. "I don't see anyone or anything. All I see is a large shadow. It looks like—wait, no! It can't be!"

"Jake, what is it?" Rose asked with growing concern at the look of panic in Jake's eyes. "C'mon!" Jake exclaimed. "We've got to get there now!"

Rose knew not to argue further. Whatever it was, she would find out soon enough.


	7. Unfocused and Distracted

Jake flew, faster and faster, pressing his wings to their limit. At last he located the alleyway, which was half hidden in shadow. He saw no evidence of danger, but he knew perfectly well that this villain preferred darkness.

"Look!" Rose pointed down into the alley, where, as they drew closer, Jake saw Violet and Blake tied down by chains.

Jake touched down in the alleyway, where he and Rose then untied the twins. Then Jake stepped torwards the shadows, staring directly into the peircing gold eyes staring out of the darkness.

"Show yourself, you coward!" Jake growled. An evil laugh flowed out of the darkness. The Longs were then surrounded by large shadow-demons—shades.

At the same time, a hulking shadow stepped forward into the light: The Dark Dragon. Jake clenched his fists. "How did you get here?" the former American dragon asked angrily. "You were sucked into that vortex 20 years ago. You weren't supposed to be released for 1000 years!" **(see bottom of page)**

The Dark Dragon crossed his arms over his chest. "It was quite simple, really." he said. "I wasn't the only creature in that vortex. During its past appearances others were sucked in as well. Bats, trolls, _krylocks_."

He needed to say nothing more for Jake to understand. Bat guano, troll belches, and most importantly, Krylock venom were the three ingredients in a portal spell. The Dark Dragon had used a portal spell to escape the vortex, and return to Earth.

"What do you want with Violet and Blake?" Jake demanded. "The same thing I wanted from you." the Dark Dragon replied simply. "Either your allegiance, or your destruction. You could make a powerful ally, or a deadly enemy."

"Your family has always been powerful." the large dragon continued. "Some of the greatest dragons in history were your ancestors, Jake Long. Yet these same dragons fell at the hands of humans, as many of my own ancestors did. I have worked all my life to destroy humans so that magical creatures may once again rule the planet!"

He paused, letting this sink in. Then he said. "I will give you the option I have always given you: join me, or die."

"And my choice is the same as before." Jake replied. "Neither!" With that, Jake, Rose, and the twins charged forward together.

Rose and Jake fought well together, their moves like a perfectly choreographed dance. Violet used her own attacks, using strategy to aid in the battle. Blake however, attacked the Dark dragon recklessly, flying circles around him and shooting a steady stream of fireballs, most of which hit the walls harmlessly.

Before they knew what was happening, Jake, Rose, and Violet were caught in the shades' grasp. Only Blake was still free.

"You are much like your father." the Dark Dragon commended Blake. "You are very powerful. You could be a great asset to me."

"Whatever." Blake scoffed. "Yeah, you just try and get me. Time for me to show you the meaning of dragon-smack!"

The Dark Dragon swung several times, but Blake dodged each blow. "Missed me!" he taunted. "Who's got mad skillz?! Oh yeah! It's Blake. Whoo-whoo—whoa!"

Blake suddenly found himself caught in the Dark Dragon's hand. The young dragon struggled, but to no avail. His wings were pinned to his side. The Dark Dragon raised his other hand, flashing his claws, preparing to destroy Blake.

Blake squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to be slain. this was it, he thought. Suddenly he heard the Dark Dragon cry out in surprise. Blake opened his eyes to see that Rose had escaped the shade's grasp, and was now attacking the Dark Dragon.

The evil dragon released Blake to deal with this distraction. Blake tried to get up to help, but quickly found himself in a shade's hold. All he could do was watch as Rose fearlessly faced this large and deadly enemy.

Rose leaped up onto the Dark Dragon's back. He bucked and swiped at her. He missed several times, but finally his large claws connected, swiping across her body, but not before Rose got in one last hit, behind the Dark Dragon's left ear.

The Dark Dragon roared as he fell to the ground. "I got…what I wanted." he gasped, looking over at the wounded Rose. Then he and all the shades vanished before them.

Jake and Violet ran torwards Rose, who was now unconcious. But Blake didn't. He couldn't run. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even move. He could only stare in shock at what he knew he had inevitably caused.

"What have I done?"

**As I metioned in the review, I found spoilers for Hong Kong Longs. That's when the Dark Dragon is sucked into the vortex.**


	8. Nobody's Perfect

Back and forth, back and forth, Blake paced across the living room, agitated. It had been two hours. Rose was on the couch in the back room, still unconcious.

"Aarrgghh!" Blake cried out in frustration. "Why didn't I just listen to you, Dad? If I hadn't gotten so cocky during the battle, then this wouldn't have happened!"

"Calm down, Blake." Jake said. "None of us blames you." "It's my fault!" Blake insisted. "I was the one who got cocky, I was the one Mom had to save, I'm the reason she's hurt!"

While Violet attemted to talk to Blake, Jake headed to the back room. He sat down in the chair next to the couch. "Please be okay, Rose." he murmured. "I can't bear the thought of losing you."

For another hour he waited. He heard Blake's angry voice drifting from the front room, along with the sound of Violet trying to calm him down, to no avail. Slowly, Rose began to regain conciousness. "Jake,"

"I'm here." Jake answered. "Jake, is everyone else alright?" Rose asked. Jake smiled. _That's typical Rose. _He thought. _She's hurt, and the first thing she does is make sure everyone else is okay._

"Hey, everybody else is fine." Jake assured her. "But what about you?" he asked, gently stroking her hair. "How you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess." Rose replied. Jake sighed. "Blake's taking this whole thing pretty hard. He's convinced it's his fault you were hurt." "Give him a day or two." Rose said. "He'll come around soon enough."

"I hope so." Jake said. For a few minutes Jake and Rose talked. Soon Rose allowed her eyes to fall closed, and within moments, her breathing had slowed to that steady rhythm that came from a peaceful sleep.

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Violet sighed as Blake stormed up the stairs to his room. She decided to try again to talk to him. She headed upstairs after him. His bedroom door was open slightly.

Violet peeked in, and saw Blake sitting cross-legged on his bed, listening to the Hannah Montana song 'Nobody's Perfect' on his mp3 player.

Violet pushed open the door. "Cody." he turned away from her. Violet was starting to get annoyed. "Cody, you're taking this way too hard. Please, Blake, say something." Her brother paid no heed to the fact that she had called him Blake. He remained silent.

Violet sighed and headed back downstairs. She went into the back room. Jake looked up. "How is she?" Violet asked. "She's asleep right now." Jake answered.

"You know," Violet said. "I find I'm more worried about Cody than I am about Mom. I mean, I know _she'll _be alright, but Cody's completely shut himself out from everything. I can understand that he would feel a little guilty, I probably would, too. But he's being way too hard on himself."

"I know." Jake said. "I just wish there was a way we could get that through to him."


	9. A New Idea

As noon approached, the students of Millard Fillmore Middle school eagerly awaited lunch hour. When the bell rang, they filed out of their classrooms and headed down the halls torwards the cafeteria.

From the talking, laughing, and yelling from the students, it seemed like a normal day for any typical middle-schooler. But Violet Long was no typical middle-schooler.

For other students, lunch hour meant a break from studies, as well as a chance to hang out and talk with their friends. On any given day, it would have been the same for Violet, but today it meant something different.

The cafeteria was crowded, a good thing for Violet. It gave her a chance to slip out without being seen. Glancing around to insure no one was looking, Violet leaped out the window, dragoning up as she did so.

As she flew, she thought. It had been two days since the encounter with the Dark Dragon. Now, on Monday, Blake still hadn't come around. Jake had tried talking to him, as had Violet.

She didn't have much more time to think about it, as she had now reached her destination. She reverted to human form, and walked inside the shop. She went straight to the back room.

Rose looked up when Violet entered. "Hey, Violet." she said. "Um, aren't you supposed to be in school?" "Lunch hour." Violet replied. Rose nodded, appreciative of the fact that Violet had given up lunch hour to see her.

When Violet and Rose were together, the 20-year age gap between them seemed to vanish. This time was no exception, but Violet had somber news.

"As you may have noticed, Cody is still blaming himself for what happened." she said. "In fact, he won't even listen to _me_."

This surprised Rose, because, even when the twins were little, Blake had always listened to Violet. "I think," Violet continued. "that you should talk to him."

"Why me?" Rose asked. "If he wouldn't even listen to you, what makes you think I could get through to him?"

"Because," Violet replied. "You're the one who was hurt, that's what Cody feels guilty about, you're the only one who can actually convince him it's not his fault."

"You are truly amazing, Violet." Rose said. "You have a wisdom, patience, and understanding far beyond your years."

Violet grinned. Placing a hand on Rose's shoulder, she said, "What can I say? It runs in the family." Rose smiled.

Violet's watch beeped. She glanced down at it. "Almost one." she noted. "I'd better get back to school." Rose nodded. "Get some rest." Violet added. "I'll see you later."

With that, Violet dragoned up, and flew out the door, leaving Rose to think about her daughter's earlier words.

_Would_ talking to Blake do any good?


	10. Deep Conversation

He couldn't do it. He just couldn't. His heart knocked painfully against his ribs. For several minutes he couldn't move.

It was now or never, Blake decided. It was Monday afternoon. Blake could've gone with Violet at lunch hour earlier, but he'd opted not to.

But now Jake and Violet were at the store, and Fu and Leone had gone to Magus Bazzar. There was no better time than now for Blake to go in and talk to Rose.

He stood up and started to go into the back room. At the threshold he stopped, as a million exscuses came to his mind: He had math homework to finish, Rose was asleep right now, and wasn't it about time for dragon training?

Any exscuse that he could have come up with became useless when, at that moment, Rose awoke, and glanced over, seeing him standing at the doorway.

Blake took a deep breath and walked into the room. He sat down in the chair nearby. For a moment neither said anything. Finally, Blake spoke. "Why?"

"Why?" he repeated. "Why didn't I just listen to Dad? Why did I have to get so cocky during the battle? Why did _you_ have to pay for _my_ stupidity?"

"None of us blames you, Blake." Rose said softly. "I certainly don't. You made a mistake, but you learned a lesson."

"It wasn't worth it!" Blake yelled, sinking to his knees and pounding his fists against the coffee table. He backed up, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

"It's just," he sighed in exasperation, trying to think of what he was trying to say. He looked up at Rose, his dark brown eyes meeting her ocean blue ones. He spoke very soberly. "Mom, if you had been killed I never would have forgiven myself."

For a moment there was silence.

"Looks like you still haven't."

Blake flinched. Rose was right, he realized. All this time he had been beating himself up for something that hadn't even happened.

"Blake, what else is bothering you?" Rose asked suddenly. Blake didn't attempt to deny knowing what she what talking about. For as long as he could remember, Rose had been able to spot a lie from a mile away.

At first Blake did not reply.

Finally he said, "I let Dad down."

"I heard him talking to you a few days ago." Blake continued. "I heard what he said, about not wanting it to take something drastic for me to straighten up. And that's exactly what happened."

"Everyone is going to disappoint someone at some time." Rose reminded him. "Just ask Jake. He'll tell you that he can't count the number of times he let _his_ dragon master down."

Blake laughed at this. A flash caught Rose's eye. she looked over at the doorway and saw Jake leaning against the doorframe, a smile on his face. He had good reason to smile. this was the first time in days that Blake had laughed.

Blake looked back and forth at his parents. "I'm sorry I've been such a jerk in the past few months." he said. "Ever since I got my dragon powers I've become too confident in my abilities. And I guess you're right: Everyone's going to mess up sometime. I shouldn't be so hard on myself when I screw up."

Jake smiled. Blake had really come around lately. Things would be better from now on.


	11. Tough Choices

And things did go well.

Until two weeks later, when a mysterious letter arrived in the mail. "Hey, Dad." Blake called as he examined the odd design on the front of the envelope.

"What is it, Blake?" Jake asked.

"Look at this strange letter." Blake replied. "The return address is encrypted. Can you read that?"

Jake studied it for a moment. Then he said, "I think it's Greek. Gramps once had me study Greek. Looks like it'll come in handy." he read the symbols carefully. "It's from the Isle of Draco." he said at last. "Odd."

He opened the envelope and withdrew a folded sheet of paper. Unfolding it, he began to read, "The Dragon Council orders Cody Blake Long, his family, and animal guardian to come to the Isle of Draco this Saturday at 5:00 PM for a special hearing regarding recent events."

"Hearing?" Blake echoed. "For what reason?"

"I don't know." Jake said. "But today is Saturday, and it's 4:15 now. I think we can get there in time."

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Half an hour later, the Long family, along with Fu Dog and Leone, arrived at the train station. Blake recalled from the Dragon Summit earlier that year that they had to take a magical elevator to get to the Isle of Draco.

Fu pressed the buttons a certain way, and finally twisted the knob. The elevator dinged, and opened to reveal a small magical elevator bellboy.

"How come I can't ever push the buttons?" Leone whined as everyone got in the elevator. "Because," Fu replied as the doors hissed closed. "last time I let you push them, you put in the wrong combination, and we wound up in the Teltar dimension (**I made that up**)."

Within seconds the elevator came to a halt. "Whaddaya know," Fu said excitedly. "I managed to take this elevator without getting—ulp…" he stopped as his face turned green. He covered his mouth and ran.

Jake rolled his eyes. Then he turned to the family and said. "C'mon, everyone. The council should be expecting us in a few minutes."

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"Cody Blake Long." Councilor Kulde, Dragon of Europe spoke to the young dragon. "In light of recent events, and how you handled these events, the dragon council has decided that you may not be ready for the task of being the American dragon."

"What?" Blake asked, stunned. Sure he'd been hard on himself, but he'd come around pretty quickly.

"However," Kulde continued. "We will not make the decision. It is up to you. Consider your choice wisely."

Blake was about to refuse. Then it dawned on him. Maybe giving up his dragon powers was a good idea. Violet could become the American dragon full-time. And how many times in the past year had he wished for that? He hated being the American dragon. Especially when he was forced to do something for the greater good, but wound up looking mean to any normal person.

Blake stepped forward. "I request that the council give me one week to make my decision." he said.

Kulde glanced back at the rest of the council. They all nodded. "Granted." Kulde said.

As the Long family headed back home, Blake thought about his choice. All he had to do was say 'yes' or 'no'. Why did that have to be so hard?


	12. Why I'm Here

Over the next week Blake did some major thinking. By Friday morning he had decided: He was going to relinquish his dragon powers.

Until the next day though, he was still considered one of the American dragons. And when Violet went out to patrol the city after school, Blake willingly went with her.

The city was pretty quiet that day. There were no scuffles, no arguments. Both the human and magical worlds were getting along.

Flying over Central Park, though, Violet and Blake spotted four hobgoblins hassling a herd of unicorns. By an unspoken agreement, the brother and sister flew torwards the commotion.

"Look hobgoblins." Blake told them. "I'm not gonna get cocky, I'm not gonna assume this will be easy, and I'm not gonna underestimate your abilities, but until tomorrow, it's my job to protect magical creatures. So leave the unicorns alone, or we'll have to make you."

The hobgoblins merely laughed, then charged at the dragons. This time Blake and Violet worked as a team to fight them. Blake used one of his father's famous moves, using his tail to grab two hobgoblins' heads and knock them together.

While the hobgoblins were still dazed, Violet pulled a vine from a tree and tied them together.

The two remaining attackers, witnessing the quick defeat of their comrades, fled in terror.

The first two managed to free themselves and followed close behind.

Blake and Violet slapped a high-five at a job well done. "Nice work, Blake." Violet commended. "You fought well." Since Blake had straightened up, Violet had taken to calling him by his preffered name.

Blake nodded. "Working as a team was definitely better than trying to do it myself." he admitted.

The unicorns then gathered around them, nuzzling them and neighing their thanks. Then the unicorns turned and galloped off.

As Blake watched the herd disappear over the hill, he realized, this was why he was here. And it always would be.

"C'mon, Violet." Blake said at last. "Let's go home. There's something I need to do."


	13. A Dragon's Decision

The wind whipped his blond hair. The breeze felt cool and refreshing against his face. Blake stood atop the mountain overlooking New York City, his territory.

He thought about the message he had just sent to the Isle of Draco. Although he'd hardly given a second thought to dropping the envelope in the mailbox, he had thought very hard about his initial decision.

But he was sure he'd chosen right.

Blake heard soft footsteps behind him, but didn't turn around. He merely acknowledged his father's presence with a small nod.

"So you've made your decision." Jake said.

Blake nodded. "I thought a lot about it, weighing the consequences of either choice. And at first I really wanted to give up my powers."

He took a deep breath. "But I've come to realize that I can't just shirk the responsibility like that. And I'm not really sure that Violet would be ready to take on the full duties of the American dragon."

"You've come a long way in the past seven months." Jake commended his son. "When you first started dragon training, you were as cocky and arrogant as I once was."

"And I was wrong." Blake agreed. "If I _am_ going to keep my powers, then I need to start taking my training seriously. Being the American dragon is more than just frying bad guys and kicking butt. My job is to protect magical creatures, and I can't do that if I keep getting cocky."

Jake put an arm around his son's shoulders. With great satisfaction, the older dragon said, "I see you becoming a powerful and wise dragon."

Blake knew his father was right. He thought about those words as father and son watched the magnificent sunset over the great city.


End file.
